Cibc World Market Inc. Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 694,415 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,143 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $158,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,306,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,438 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $5,865,055,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in AbbVie by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,499,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,084,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,432 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,133,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,772,345,000 after purchasing an additional 129,247 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.43.

AbbVie News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The UK drug-cost watchdog recommended AbbVie’s ovarian cancer therapy Elahere for patients with a hard-to-treat form of ovarian cancer, boosting the drug’s commercial prospects in a key market. British drug-cost watchdog recommends use of AbbVie’s ovarian cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie won EU approval for AQUIPTA (atogepant) as an acute treatment for migraine in adults, adding a second approved migraine indication and expanding the drug’s revenue opportunity. AbbVie Gets EU Nod for Aquipta as Acute Treatment for Migraine
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission also authorized an expanded label for VENCLYXTO, which could broaden use in combination therapies and support oncology sales. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Announces EC Authorization of Expanded Label for VENCLYXTO®
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s update on a Japan safety study for RINVOQ drew attention to ongoing development and post-market monitoring, though the details appear to be part of routine clinical follow-up rather than a major catalyst. AbbVie’s RINVOQ Safety Study In Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also said it will present at the Goldman Sachs healthcare conference next week, which usually keeps investors focused on management commentary but is not a direct business update. AbbVie to Present at the Goldman Sachs 47th Annual Global Healthcare Conference

AbbVie Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $217.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.73 and a 52 week high of $244.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.35.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.